New Legacy Scholarship From International

 This benefits members of our own families!

Use the QR code or click here for the:

Legacy Scholarship Application Guidelines and Adjudication Guidelines 

Link to Apply on Kaleidoscope (very easy-to-follow instructions to create an account and then fill out the application.  It saves for you so you don't have to do it all at once.)

 

 

 

 

Request and Instructions from our State Treasurer

 From Marlea Steiner to our Chapter Treasurers:

I hope you are collecting dues for 2025.  Please send your $15 per
member, state dues, to me as soon as you have them all collected.  They are due to me by the end of December, 2024.  I would appreciate them sooner, along with a list if you have them collected.  I usually
suggested by December 1, 2024 so you are done with it before you get
busy with the holiday season.

You will need to send your list and $40 per member to International by
December 31, 2024.  The address is on the back of the front cover of the Kappan.   It is 1615 W. 92nd Street, Kansas City, MO 64114-3210. 
Members can pay their international dues on line if they would like.  If
you have questions for International, their phone number is
800-247-2311.  They will usually respond within a couple of business days.

There is also an ITE (International Teacher Education) fee of $20 that
all chapters must pay to International.  If you have any questions,
please let me know.  My new email is msteiner11964@gmail.com.  My phone numbers are home 608-523-5331 and cell  608-293-5331.

Blessed Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!

Nu Chapter Has Been Busy!

Nu chapter delivered baby baskets to Mayo and Marshfield hospitals in Eau Claire. They were given to the first baby born at each hospital in October in celebration of ADK Month.

Nu sisters celebrated ADK Month by making cards to be shared with veterans on Veterans Day.

Diane Kornesczuk delivered Birthday Bags to Dove South nursing facility. These were created by Nu chapter sisters at our November meeting.

What wonderful projects!

Wisconsin President Joanne Loy Visits Chapters

 Our Wisconsin A∆K President Joanne Loy had the opportunity to visit meetings held by Zeta and Omicron.  Zeta was having a traditional tea party complete with hats.

At the October meeting of Omicron Chapter, Ruth Tschanz was honored as a Golden Sister with a special ceremony.

Omicron also had a proclamation from Mayor Donna Douglas.

October Newsletter from Joanne

 

Delta Fundraiser at Culver's

Here is a picture sent by Kris of four of our Delta sisters working the first shift at Culver's last night.  It was a blast!  Thank you to ALL the workers and to those members who came to dine and support us. It was another fun night and hopefully a lucrative one. Left to right are Carol Ross, Sue Talarczyk, Kris Bauer, and Mary Thompson.  This was a fundraising event for our Scholarship Fund.

State Board Meeting, October 2024

Our first Board Meeting of the year was this weekend, starting with Policies and Procedures yesterday afternoon, and continuing this morning.  We started with generous treats from Carol.  Here is Marilyn smiling at how delicious the goodies look.

There was a pretty display in honor of our Founders.

Marilyn outdid herself with these darling table favors!

The reading was her intriguing Reflection for the Day.

Jan did our Fraternity Education and it was so fun!  It was a quiz "What's on Your Cell Phone?"  It was similar to the old shower game of 'what's in your purse?' You can imagine the giggling and cross-talk while we figured our points, not to mention the tech learning.  Here's Theresa, our winner.

And a closeup of the Fraternity Education idea.

Here we are at our working lunch.

Several thank-you notes were read. They were from Angela Steinmetz, Nu Chapter, for the Excellence in Education award,

Ann Ainslee, our Regional President,

The Longest Day,

and the Southwest Wisconsin Community Action Program.

It was a very productive two days.

State Board Meeting to Revise Policies and Procedures

We survived the Policies and Procedures meeting, and we’re still smiling! Joanne really runs an efficient and productive meeting, and the positive energy continued through dinner at Buck & Honey's.

Starting with Nikki (center front) and going clockwise around the table, are Nikki, Marilyn, Jan, Mary, Arlene, Joanne, Kathy, Kim, Theresa, Marlea, and Ruth (right front).

Therapy Team Guest Speaker at Nu Chapter Meeting

Nu Chapter had as their October meeting guests, Laurie Nowak and her dog, Bently.  They are a therapy team that goes to schools and hospitals to give a few minutes of dog therapy to those who need that extra touch.  Laurie explained what it takes to train to become a therapy team, and how to maintain that status.  Everyone was delighted by their visit.

International Pin

Here is the newest International pin. These can be purchased on the website.

Zeta Creates Their New Website

 Co-presidents Carol Graf and Priscilla Wiesner of Zeta Chapter (Kenosha) have finalized preparation of their new website. Their goal is to utilize it as a recruiting tool to attract new members, and to give access to the application for the scholarship they offer.

Check it out: adkwizeta.blogspot.com

If you are interested in creating a website for your chapter, feel free to contact our Wisconsin Technology Chairperson, Kim Gloede, at kim.gloede@gmail.com for help in creating it.  

August Newsletter from Joanne

Kim Gloede (Tau Chapter) Visited Our C.H.E.A.R. World Understanding Project in Tanzania, Africa

(Kim will write this post in the first person.)

An opportunity presented itself and I was able to go with a group of 9 other members of Alpha Delta Kappa International to visit the Manyara Holistic Center (MAHOCE) in Babati, Tanzania.  Cam Johnston, the organizer of our trip is the mother of Joshua, the Director of this amazing home and school for children in poverty.  MAHOCE had been our A∆K World Understanding Project for two years. 

We also had four amazing safari days. All our nights were at beautiful resorts.  

After flying to Philadelphia to join up with six other A∆K sisters, we flew together to London, Doha (Qatar), and Kilimanjaro airport near Arusha, Tanzania, three long flights with layovers.

 

There we connected with the rest of the group.  There were ten of us all together, most of us meeting for the first time. We became fast friends.

We were there 9 days, and what an amazing learning experience it was!  For our purposes here, I will focus mainly on the visit to the Center, which was the most important part of this trip, and the most meaningful.  But if you wish, you can see more details in my online photo album here.

The Manyara Holistic Center (MAHOCE) is a home and school for homeless children in eastern Tanzania, an area of 1.43 million people with no other facility like this.  Their Foundation was created and named Harambee, which is a Swahili word meaning "Let's Pull Together."  The first children to live there were street kids.  The staff are very devoted, and several grew up there.  All religions and tribes are welcome.

When we arrived, Joshua and the children welcomed us and the staff members were introduced.  For a more detailed history, which was part of the welcome program when we first arrived, click here.

The children had written a song and a skit to describe what MAHOCE does for them. They also performed a traditional dance for us.

Here are the three A∆K members who are also on the Board of the Harambee Foundation, which funds MAHOCE.  From left, Cam Johnston, her son Joshua, the Director, Audrey Pyle, and Eleanor Smith from A∆K-PA-Eta.

We had a tour of this amazing facility.  When we saw all the areas of the center, we realized, as Cam pointed out, "You're in the real world now." It was heart-warming and heart-breaking all at the same time.  Makes me think about the real meaning of 'privilege.'

 The dorms

The kitchen

The kitchen storeroom

The garden, which will expand soon, and which includes fruit trees

Laundry

and the classroom, with some of the gifts we brought.  The MEMKWA class teaches unschooled children the skills necessary to test into public school, or if they are older, there is a version of a 2-year GED.

Here are several of us helping put up posters in the classroom.

There is also an "Emergency Room," which is a temporary safe place for children rescued from abuse. 

 

We also helped in the classroom, which of course was so fun!

We returned on Sunday, on which days lunch is served to the children who live here, and also to those who attend school here, but live off campus with parents or caregivers.

Everywhere we went, I was struck by the contrast between the modern and the traditional.  Arusha, where we started, is a very large city, but is somewhat primitive.

Many types of vehicles, and people in both western and traditional dress.

We visited a Maasai village, and their school was in session.

We went to a number of galleries, cultural centers and markets.  But the highlight of the safari portion of the trip was, of course, the safari days to see the animals!  Here we all are with our tour guides in the special van whose roof lifts up to see and take photos.

 

Here are a few of the best photos.  I took some of these, and some were taken by my travel Sisters. 

 

Elephants

Warthogs

Baboons

Cape Buffalo

Flamingos

Gazelle

Giraffes

Impalas

Ostrich

Tree Lion (very rare to see)

And later we saw a pride of lions in the distance with this male guarding his harem.

Vervet Monkey

 

Water Buck

Wildebeest

 

and Zebras everywhere!

We also saw a pair of black rhinos off in the distance, which we were told almost never happens.  One of our "Safari Sisters" was able to get a photo with her professional camera.

It was a wonderful experience.  But the most lasting impression it left me with is that our Alpha Delta Kappa World Understanding Projects are so needed and so worthwhile. 

IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN DONATING TO THIS VERY WORTHY CAUSE, please send your tax-deductible check to the 

Harambee Foundation

P.O. Box 216

West Point, PA 19486

 

Or on PayPal Giving Fund at

harambeefoundation.org

 

From The Harambee Foundation:

 

Your donation is always wisely spent!  

Donations to the General Fund will be used for whatever the current cost needs are.  But if you wish to specify how your donation will be spent, please consider the following:

You may sponsor the education of a child starting in primary school or up through college.   Sponsorships start at just $100/year for a primary child and go up to $500/year for college.

You may pay a monthly lab bill for just $25. ( Children are tested for malaria, UTI, typhoid, general infections)

You may pay a monthly pharmacy bill for $50. ( Medications for whatever a child may need)

You may purchase a water filter for $50.

You may buy a 220 pound bag of corn for $25.

You may buy a 265 pound bag of beans for $100.

Please consider becoming our partner and help us Empower our children through Education! Together we can free them from a life of poverty!  Thank you!

For a more detailed history of MAHOCE:

 

History of MAHOCE (International C.H.E.A.R. Project)

MANYARA HOLISTIC CENTRE (MAHOCE) was formed in 2007 from the idea of Joshua Johnston who came as a cultural tourist to the District of Babati, Hanang and Mbulu, Tanzania.  The idea come after he saw street children in the Babati area. More than 15 members of the community responded to his call. The aim was to change children’s lives for the better and help them find the love and care they missed. 

 

The main purpose was to provide children living in dangerous environments with food, safety, shelter, clothing, health care and education. Also to provide parents with parenting tools so that children would not run away from home.

After submitting the MAHOCE Constitution to the Ministry of Interior Affairs, MAHOCE was registered as a Non-Government Organization (NGO) on February 27, 2007 with registration no. 09NGO/1991.
Joshua asked his friends and parents to create a tool to fund MAHOCE with donations, and HARAMBEE FOUNDATION was formed.  Harambee is a Swahili word which means "Let's pull together."
Later MAHOCE had to apply for registration as a Children's Home. The request was accepted by the Ministry of Health, Social Development, Gender, Elderly, Children and Special Groups and was granted a license on 01/08/2022.

Since the establishment of MAHOCE, it has succeeded in reaching many children and helping them. Many have been able to realize their full potential and become independent in their lives.  This year (2024),  MAHOCE is serving  98 children at various levels of education, 31 in primary school, 4 in MEMKWA education, 47 in ordinary-level and 5 in advanced-level secondary school, 2 in middle colleges, 4 in universities, and 5 are waiting to go to advanced level 5.   Twenty-six of these children live here at the Centre.

MAHOCE has a board that sits four times a year to evaluate the operation, along with 7 employees: a Matron, Patron, Teachers, Community Development officers and a Coach.

The biggest goal was to provide permanent housing to raise children. At first, we rented in various houses and faced the risk of rising rent costs, forcing us to move the Centre several times.  We are very grateful to Alpha Delta Kappa for your financial support building a permanent home for children. As a result we will no longer move.  This reduces the financial cost of paying rent, which can help us reach more children and increase our self-sustainability.
 

Our building contains the following areas:

• 3 Offices including Reception, Director's Office and Teacher's office.
• Two dormitories, a girls' dormitory and a boys' dormitory
• 2 classrooms, for MEMKWA and another for Evening prep.
• Emergency room for temporary cases
•  Matron's rooms
• Kitchen with three stoves.
• Dining area
• 3 Store rooms, for kitchen storage, general storage (e.g. school supplies, laundry and bar soap, exercise books, toothpaste, lotions, pens, pencils etc.) and another for fire wood.
• Toilets as follows, 1 toilet for the director, toilet for employees and guests, 1 toilet and shower room for the matron, 2 toilets and 2 shower rooms for girls, and 2 toilets and a shower room for boys.
• 3 washing tubs: 1 for boys' laundry, 1 for girls' laundry, 1 for washing dishes
• We have a fenced-in vegetable garden out back
• Also, the Centre is adjacent to a designated open space area, which the children use for play and exercise.
• We also have a Solar energy system and water catchment tanks holding 4000 liters of rain water.


One challenge is to increase school contributions every year, especially for secondary school children whose number is increasing every year.  This year, we have a total of 54 secondary school children.
Another challenge is that medical expenses are high, so we are unable to serve many children fully. Health insurance cost is TZS 50,400/ per child (about $20 USD).  We need this health insurance especially for some children who need daily medicines.

We are very grateful to you (A∆K) for coming to visit us and see our surroundings, we will certainly not forget the great help you gave us and we also promise you to use this building well and take good care of it. 

 
We also ask you to continue to be with us when we need your help next time.  We pray to GOD to bless you and take care of you throughout your life.

Please consider becoming our partner and help us Empower our children through Education! Together we can free them from a life of poverty!  Thank you! 

In September 2024 our story appeared in The Kappan.